Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-02-24
THE SMOKING HABIT.
a Brief But Exhaustive Argument Again
the Use Of Tnhaccn-

Brief but Exhaustive Argument a gainst
the Use of Tobacco.
An English journal recently offered
prize for the best argument against
smoking. Following is the article for
which the prize was awarded:
1t is unphysiological because no ami
NAL in state of nature uses it, and the
first time a man smokes he is usually
violently upset by it When a person
eats new kind of fruit for the first
time he may not like it, but it does not
make him ill, as such fruit is a food.
But tobacco, being a poison, nearly
always causes an upset to the system.
1t is only by continued use that man
can use it without being made imme-
diately i'll; he is made ultimately dis
eased by its use.
1t is expo ssive because there is no
need for it; it is not even a luxury that
helps US to spend our superfiuous cash
harmlessly, because it causes more
loss and injury than it does good. In
year on tobacco alone; what with
pipes, matches, cigar-holders, cigaret-
tubes, cigaret-machines, etc, we do
not spend short of ego, 900, 900.
1t is dirty habit. What smells
worse than the breath of smoker,
than his tobacco-soaked clothes, and
his rank pipe? Then the ashes from
pipes, cigars and cigarets fall on
clothes, carpets, table-cloths, ETC., and
dirty or disigure them. Smoking
blackens the teeth, and if a pipe is
smoked the teeth that hold it are worn
away, and so we spoil a natural adorn-
ment-the teeth.
1t is selfish, in that the person only
who uses it gets pleasure from it, and
that often at the expense of others.
Smokers poison the air common to all
by the fumes they emit. The selfish
ness of the smoker causes fam
lily quarrels and disputes, the man
preferring his pipe to his wife
or sweetheart. 1t is disease-pro-
ducing. 1t stops growth, and causes
ill-developed persons if used be-
fore growth has stopped. In adults il
first blunts the sense of taste, smell and
sight, and, indirectly, the hearing and
| touch. 1t always produces more or
less sore throat, and often, in conse-
quence, the worst kind of deafness
viz: throat deafness. When absorbed
into the system it causes palpitation
and irregular action of the heart, and
has depressing influence on it. 1t de-
lays digestion, causes nervousness,
trembling of hands. indecision, loss OF
energy and of will-power, with lowness
of spirits. 1t deadens thought, and
makes man dull and listless instead
of being intelligent and active. 1t
causes loss of appetite, helps on cancer
of the stomach and is the active cause
of most cases of cancer seen in the
lower lip, which is rarely seen except
among smokers. 1t also lessons the
vitality, and wounds heal less rapidly
amongst smokers than amongst non
smokers. 1t wastes time and energy.
1t wastes energy as it depresses the
vital powers and uses up itself life and
power that should be used for helping
on mankind. 1t leads to drinking.
Smoking always causes a dryness OF
the throat, and the saliva elected is
fluid lost to the system; to relieve
both these conditions fluids are taken.
AS tobacco is a nervine represent alco-
hol is often used to get rid of this de-
pressed feeling. Statistics of temper
ance friendly societies show that smok-
ers break away from their pledge in
greater numbers than non-smokers do.
1t leads to loss of property, goods
and lives, by the fires which originate
by lighted ashes from pipes, by lighted
cigar ends, or matches used by smok-
ers. The loss in this country by fire
traceable to smoking is very large
Chicago Tribune.